Digital Platforms

During the first half of 2012, 58,523 questionable claims were referred, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Deloitte's new report outlines two types of fraud: the deliberate faking of an accident and fabrication of a claim, called hard fraud, and exaggerated values on legitimate claims or misrepresented information in an attempt to garner lower policy premiums, labeled soft fraud.

Michael Palmer will lead the analytics team in Bermuda and help develop the company’s understanding of all aspects of catastrophe risk.

Aviva is looking for 5,000 UK drivers with Android smartphones to test its RateMyDrive app.

Bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) assets reached $145.6 billion in the first quarter of 2012, an 8.7 percent year-over-year increase from the reported BOLI assets of $133.9 billion for the same period in 2011, according to the Michael White/Meyer-Chatfield Bank-Owned Life Insurance Holdings Report.

Specialty branch within Munich Re adds a front-end risk management and planning component to its data breach coverage.

Falling costs largely attributable to decrease in medical benefits for injured workers, according to the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Terri Vaughan will step down during the first quarter of 2013; National Association of Insurance Commissioners officers will conduct a national search later this year to fill the position.

CLASIC/2 Version 14.0 introduces the ability to model builder’s risk policies for the AIR earthquake and hurricane models for the United States. AIR designed the updated version to support the policy conditions that characterize commercial insurance, enabling companies to assess catastrophe loss potential from the portfolio level down to the individual location level.

Second half of 2012 will likely test reserves, balance sheets and underwriting acumen—Keefe Bruyette & Woods expects Ace Ltd., Chubb Corp., Marsh & Mclennan Cos. and Proassurance Corp. to pass those tests with strong reserves and quality franchises.

21st Century, Argo, Infinity, EMC, Manulife, Tower and XL Group all released their second-quarter results.

Multiple billing systems to be consolidated to cloud-delivered STG Billing solution.

The specialty insurer looks to the claims management software to support its goal of increasing effectiveness and efficiency of payments.

The showdown came at a hearing held by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on the controversial product, which is a kind of property insurance policy that banks purchase when mortgage borrowers stop paying for homeowners insurance. Banks receive a portion of the premiums through commissions, reinsurance deals and other payments from the specialty carriers that offer it.

New survey hints that organizational understanding may be more important than appropriate technology products when it comes to gleaning social insights.

International regulatory measures, including Solvency equivalency, highlight the AIA’s talking points heading into the weekend.

After purchasing ClaimCenter from the provider five years ago, the insurer is also implementing Guidewire's billing, client data management and policy administration systems.

Coverage Counselor is designed to help consumers understand how their personal circumstances impact their insurance premium and enable them to compare different levels of coverage.

One way to practically screen for potentially significant threats is to evaluate prospective ones against an insurer's exposure concentrations.

In July, severe drought and heat waves effected great swaths of the United States, causing billions in insurance losses, according to Aon Benefield’s “July 2012 Global Catastrophe Recap.” Up to 64 percent of the continental United States is experiencing at least moderate drought, according to the National Climatic Data Center, and half of all U.S. counties have been declared disaster areas.

Spreadsheet Workbench purchased by insurer in an effort to meet Solvency II requirements.

The number of insurers looking to increase staff is now at the highest level since July 2009, according to “The Mid-Year Insurance Labor Market Study,” produced by Jacobson Group, an insurance staffing company, and Ward Group, an insurance consultancy. The majority of insurers, 54.5 percent, intend to increase staff this year, compared to 51 percent in January; and the number expecting to increase revenue is 78.4 percent, up from 69 percent for the same period.

Insurance is among the industries found to have significant scanning requirements due to a continued reliance on paper, according to a recent survey.

Announcement of another state review comes days before NAIC's hearing on force-placed insurance slated for Thursday.

Many insurers currently don’t offer self-service Websites to support customers, but that will change by the end of 2013, according to the phase 1 results of iPipline’s “Surveying Customer Servicing in Life Insurance: Insights into carriers’ operational tasks, priorities and technologies.”

Nina, the new customer service virtual assistant from Nuance, is designed to understand what is said and who is saying it.

This month’s MarketScout report cites a stable personal lines market with a composite rate growth of 2 percent for August, while composite commercial P&C rates were also noted as steady at four percent.

Upgrading claims systems is a high priority, ranking among the top three projects for 41 percent of large property/casualty carriers and 23 percent of midsize carriers, according to “Novarica Market Navigator: US Property/Casualty Claims Solutions 2012.” This year, insurers will select between 65 and 75 new systems, compared with 50 to 60 claims systems last year.

Insurers’ recent SEC filings indicate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is continuing its investigation into whether mortgage insurers are complying with federal real-estate law.

The technology challenges business models by potentially eroding premiums and profits, but also offers an opportunity for differentiation in a market historically driven by price.

Job numbers in all IT sectors grow as CIOs look to turn temporary positions into openings for full-time IT professionals.

Net income at Allianz rises 23 percent in the second quarter.

At an upcoming FACI meeting, international regulatory rules, including ComFrame, are expected to be the main topic of discussion.

American Safety, CNA, Hartford, MetLife, Prudential and Willis announce second-quarter results.

Underwriting service to link predictive analytics engine to the carrier's day-to-day decision-makers' workflow.

The property/casualty industry is facing a number of potentially transformational forces, including increasing competition, consumerization, the number of communications options for both agents and customers, social networking, and an evolving regulatory environment, according to Gartner’s “Hype Cycle for P&C Insurance, 2012.”

International insurance execs question the IAIS and Financial Stability Board's consideration of criteria for, and oversight of, firms too big to fail.

Mitchell says that, under the terms of the multi-year agreement, GAINSCO will implement WorkCenter Total Loss, developed in conjunction with J.D. Power and Associates, as well as Mitchell's assignment, repairable estimating and reporting solutions.

In a down economy, insurance fraud is on the increase, but companies such as Allstate, Erie Insurance and CNA tune their technology to fight fraud and organized crime.

The agency management system, AMS360, is expected to begin delivering by the end of this year.

‘Insurance Scorecard’ to offer business intelligence, advanced analytics, and single view of policy, claims data.

Independent agency selects cloud-based phone system in an attempt to increase mobility and improve communications, customer service.

Symetra Life Insurance Company purchased and is implementing FastTrack software from GettingHired LLC; the software is designed for employees on short- or long-term disability looking for help in returning to the workforce.

Despite approving additional share repurchases last week, insurer still considering deals similar to those made by WellPoint and Cigna earlier this year.

Two new studies amplify the benefits—especially for women—of working with financial advisors, and provide insight into a changing demographic for life insurers.

With a mobile app created by Streebo using IBM Web Experience software, ANICO expects to provide its sales force with what it needs to reach new customers.

Company seeks $7.4 billion for assets; Manulife Financial, AIA Group and KB Financial listed as interested buyers.

Analytics increasingly provide competitive differentiation for insurers and are at the heart of the industry’s transformation to a more customer-centric business model, according to “Data and Analytics in Insurance: The Dawn of a New Era,” from Strategy Meets Action.

Awareness of bank-sold life insurance improves; carriers designing simple products could benefit, LIMRA reports.

Chubb, Principal Financial and four others announce second-quarter results.

In a recent survey of data center facility managers, IT leaders and C-suite executives, consolidating servers and updating mechanical infrastructures appeared on the vast majority of to-do lists.

A recent survey found cyber attack to be among the world's top five threats, which means insurers have a big responsibility to help others, as well as themselves.